Why Iowa City’s bar-entry age should be 21

Editor's note: The Iowa City Council has approved initial readings of an ordinance that would ban people younger than 21 from the city's bars after 10 p.m. Final approval would put the ordinance into effect June 1.

By Sally Mason

The University of Iowa and greater Iowa City community have struggled for many years with a growing problem: the harmful effects of alcohol. Our community, however, has not yet taken the single most potent and obvious step.

People under the minimum legal drinking age do not belong in bars.

As president of the University of Iowa, I support a minimum bar entry age of 21. Alcohol is a common part of the college experience, but too many of our students drink on too many occasions in ways that are too risky. In every category that we study, a greater proportion of our students suffer harm than on the average college campus.

Consider these chilling statistics: As a result of alcohol use within the past year, 25 percent of our students report that they experienced physical injury; 51 percent did something they regretted; 9 percent got in trouble with the police; 49 percent forgot where they were, suggesting that some of the other harms may be underestimated.

These figures are as much as two times higher than the average rates seen on college campuses nationwide.

Our students also are harmed by alcohol more than their peers on the average campus because too many drink excessively. Furthermore, our students tend to drink in riskier ways, using responsible strategies - such as alternating drinks, avoiding drinking games and pacing themselves to one drink per hour - at rates about only one-third of the national average.

Accessibility is one of several empirically established predictors of high binge-drinking rates. Simply put, more students consume more alcohol where it is easier to obtain. A minimum bar entry age of 21 will increase safety mainly by decreasing the total number of students drinking on any given night.

Under the current ordinance, students below the legal drinking age have easy access to bars. According to published research, underage drinkers become more intoxicated in bars than those of legal age, itself a good reason to keep underage students out of bars.

Some suggest that students will just drink elsewhere, but students' willingness to pay a cover charge suggests that bars offer a more attractive experience than other drinking venues. At least some students, absent the bar experience, will choose to drink less or less frequently.

More importantly, the defeatist assumption that drinking opportunities in downtown bars will be replaced one-for-one by drinking opportunities in other venues assumes no other environmental changes. If the city raises the minimum bar entry age and we collaboratively take other actions, we have the opportunity to reduce significantly the total volume of alcohol consumed by students.

To this end, the university will impose sanctions on students for relevant offenses that occur off campus. We will develop materials to help students learn about their responsibilities as tenants and neighbors, and will require AlcoholEdu, an evidence-based online educational program, of all entering undergraduates.

In addition, working with students, we will provide more attractive late-night activities in multiple venues.

We also are confident that this change will contribute to a change in the University of Iowa's image. We already recruit a great many fine students who are serious about their studies. By bringing the minimum bar entry age in line with the federal drinking age, we will reduce our reputation as a party school and be better positioned to recruit even greater numbers of serious students who will positively impact our community and our state.

The history and the future of Iowa City and the University of Iowa are inextricably linked. Instituting a minimum bar entry age of 21 in our community will brighten the future of both.

Sally Mason has been president of the University of Iowa since August of 2007. Comments: sally-mason@uiowa.ed